The Power of Soft Skills | Roman Kolesov | TEDxAmerican University of Technology

Key wellness / self-care / productivity takeaways (Soft Skills as a career skill)

• Public speaking practice (reduce fear through reps)

  • Start with small speeches: give brief updates in meetings.
  • Expect improvement through repeated practice, not one big performance.
  • Use practice to manage fear of judgment, forgetting words, and looking unprofessional.

• Active listening (understand, not just hear)

  • Listen with the goal of actually understanding the person (their perspective/experience), not merely collecting information.

• Feedback that improves communication

  • When asking for feedback, request input on communication effectiveness, not just technical work:
    • “Was I clear?”
    • “Was I audible?”
    • “Was I helpful?”

• Empathy as a conflict-prevention tool

  • Before arguing, pause and ask what the other person might be feeling.
  • Treat empathy as an intentional step in how you respond to others.

• Learn from others

  • Read books, watch TED talks, and study great communicators.

• Focus on one skill at a time

  • Don’t try to build everything at once.
  • Learn/practice a single soft skill consistently (e.g., active listening for the next months), then expand.

• Transfer skills beyond work

  • Soft skills support everyday life—especially connection, collaboration, leadership, and communication.
  • When learning new frameworks, also practice how to explain/talk about them, not just how they work.

• Practical next step

  • “Start small” immediately—talk to people right after the event to keep momentum.

Presenters / sources

• Presenter: Roman (Ramon) Kolesov (TEDxAmerican University of Technology)
• Subtitles Transcriber: Iga Bartczuk
• Subtitles Reviewer: Maxime Sobrier

Referenced sources (type)

• TED talks, books (no specific titles/authors mentioned)